Cherry Blossoms
by KousukeAsazuki
Summary: Under a flurry of cherry blossom petals, Renji calls out to the fading back of Byakuya Kuchiki. He couldn't say 'I love you', that would be far too inappropriate.


I thought this would be a good idea, and if it's received well, I might do another like it. This is a oneshot, but also a scene from my upcoming Bleach fic, Kataku. I thought this would be a good promotion-type thing to get some people interested. At the very least, I hope it reaches that goal. I'm aiming to have the entire fiction completed by the end of this month, so if you enjoy this segment (and any others I might put up as separate oneshots), please check it out!

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After much consideration and convincing, on Ukitake's part, Renji finally decided to track down his lord and confess to him his thoughts. He had been opposed to it at first-- he wasn't the type of person to outrightly admit when he felt something for someone, and even with questioning he barely saw himself admitting such a thing. Ukitake, however, told him that was exactly the type of person Byakuya didn't like, and that if Renji wanted to be anything in his lord's eyes, he wouldn't be afraid. Renji attempted to deny his fears, but he knew that was what had been holding him back thus far. Not wanting to be hindered by his thoughts anymore, he found Byakuya in the castle courtyard, under a canopy of cherry blossom trees.

"Kuchiki-sama," Renji called out, stopping the man in his tracks.

Byakuya glanced over his shoulder to his subordinate, studying him through half-lidded eyes. "Renji," he spoke softly, "what is it?"

Renji froze, his throat dry and his lips unspeaking. He could only stare at his lord's back, flickering his gaze tentatively up to his eyes. He felt like a fool, but then again, that's exactly what he was. A fool in love. He cursed himself, screamed at his soul to speak out, but still nothing came. He was absolutely hopeless.

"If you've nothing to say, then I'll be on my way." Byakuya's voice never changed, not the slightest hint of sympathy for the obviously-struggling boy. What good would sympathy do, anyway? No one's courage was coaxed out of them by kind words and concerned looks.

"Wait," Renji finally breathed out, reaching an arm out to catch Kuchiki's sleeve. His hand tightened around the fabric, sure that he could keep the man there if he just held on hard enough.

Once again, Byakuya glanced over his shoulder to study his second-in-command. Just what was this boy's problem now?

"Ukitake-san," Renji murmured, knowing the name would be enough to hold Byakuya's attention until he could stumble his words together in the correct order. He took a moment, and as expected, his lord waited for him. "Ukitake-san," he repeated, "told me that this was a good idea. He said that it would be alright to tell you, and he sounded sure, so I thought that it would be okay." He spoke lowly and quickly, his eyes never daring to merge with the noble's.

It had been Ukitake's idea? Well, if he was involved, the least Byakuya could do was give Renji his attention. He tugged his sleeve away from the loosening grip and turned to face the redhead, his eyes penetrating every thought that flew through Renji's head. Since when did the boy start acting this way? So nervous and childish? Well, nervous, anyway.

"Kuchiki-sama, I... I have feelings for you. Feelings that I know I shouldn't have, and feelings that maybe I don't want, but feelings that I have, all the same." There. He had said it. He couldn't outwardly say 'I love you', that would be far too inappropriate. He couldn't say 'I want to be with you', that would be way too desperate. Feelings were enough, and he knew Byakuya would get the message. After all, it had taken everything in him just to stutter out that much.

Byakuya remained silent, dignified, condescending. His eyes were trained, almost narrowed, towards Renji and his presence became no less intimidating. Perhaps, even more so. As Renji had been unable to speak before, this time Byakuya was the one to wordlessly relay his meaning. It wasn't that he couldn't speak, but there were no words he had in mind for Renji to hear at the moment. What kind of response was he expected to give to something like that?

Expecting at least a scolding or snide remark, Renji's eyes widened in shock when his lord did nothing but turn from him once more and continue on his way. "Kuchiki-sama!" he called out, "W-wait a minute!"

Only when he was several yards away did Byakuya pause again, though his head never turned to look back at Renji's pathetic expression. "You are a fool," he said smoothly, "no noble in their right mind would lower their self to exchanging such feelings with a commoner."

Renji's hands clenched and his throat shook with unshed cries. He steadily watched as the king departed from the courtyard, a flurry of cherry blossom petals closing off Renji's vision of the distant figure.

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It's very short, and I won't tell you the final outcome of this scene, since there's more to it. Haha, you'll have to read my fic to find that out. As I said before, if this idea is well-liked, then I'll throw up another scene in a couple days. If not, then I hope that this oneshot was liked on its own!


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